In "It Runs in the Family," Diana Douglas plays Kirk's wife and mother to her real-life son, Michael. Adding to this family affair is her grandson Cameron, who makes his feature film debut playing Michael's son (all that seems to be missing from the mix is Michael's wife, actress Catherine Zeta-Jones).
While promoting "It Runs in the Family," Diana Douglas discussed how she remained friends with Kirk, how motherhood affected her acting career, and her relationship with the Douglas clan.
Why did you feel the time was right to work with your ex-husband?
Well, I guess because we were offered the parts. But I think that it was useful even though it had been a long time since we had been married to each other. Actors are always looking for things in sense memory to help, and I felt that we had a lot to go on.
How do you handle communication in your family?
We communicate pretty well actually. We’re all fairly open with each other. I don't think I was very much a hands-on type of mom. When Kirk and I were divorced, the kids were five and two and I moved to New York. We lived in an apartment for six years then and I remarried a producer on Broadway, and he had a very good relationship with my sons. Then when we moved out here too, we were friendly both with Kirk and Anne. So, it’s worked out quite well.
How could you maintain such a friendship?
I’ve always enjoyed his sense of humor, even when I was angriest at him. He could always make me laugh, somehow, which annoyed the hell out of me. But then I think we both decided too, when the time of divorce came, that we had to maintain a certain amount of civility because of the children. I know Michael has said since being an adult that he was always very grateful that we never did badmouth each other. Sometimes we probably wanted to. And also, I think that after he got married to Anne, who made it very much easier, because she and I cooperated very much in terms of bed times and what they could watch on television, and that kind of thing.
Did you encourage Michael to be an actor?
Did I encourage him? No. I didn’t encourage him or discourage him. He said that he did not want to be an actor when he was in prep school, for instance. They had a very, very good drama club and he didn’t want to join. He said he wouldn’t have anything to do with that. It wasn’t until he was in college that Michael admitted to being interested and turned out to be very good at it.
Does Michael have any of Kirk’s traits?
I think the great deal of drive, ambition, self-discipline, concentration and all those things that are very important for an actor.
Were real family photos used in the beginning of the film?
Oh, yeah. They all are. I think there’s one of Kirk and me cutting the wedding cake and then there’s one of our dancing together. When they asked me if they could use them, I said, “Okay, as long as I get them back.”
Did having Michael affect your acting career?
Yeah, well there were certain things you could do and certain things you couldn’t. Miss Hepburn, for instance, wanted me to go on the road with her when she did "As You Like It." And I couldn’t do that, couldn’t go on the road, so I turned that down. When the kids were small though, I was able to go to India and do a film there. There were some things you could do and some things you couldn’t.
NEXT PAGE: Diana Douglas on Old Memories, Her Career, and Family Relationships
